Gardaí warn of bogus Jack and Jill Children's Foundation fundraisers in Longford.
Gardaí and the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation have issued warnings to the general public about donating to the charity organisation this month.
It has been reported in the Longford Leader that the foundation notified an Garda Síochána about suspicious activity from a group claiming to be fundraising for the children's charity.
According to the report, it is suspected that a number of people in Co. Longford were contacted by scammers requesting bank details, with at least one definite case of fraud having taken place in recent days.
In response, the foundation has put out a warning over this case of bogus fundraising.
"Jack & Jill do not permit or encourage any unsolicited door to door fundraising", the statement read. "If you have any reservations about any fundraising going on in your community for Jack & Jill please contact the Jack & Jill Office on 045 894538 to get any confirmation. Or alternatively you can make a safe donation through Jack & Jill's website or office and receive a receipt for your donation."
https://www.facebook.com/jackandjillfoundation/posts/10155906340713770
A spokesperson for an Garda Síochána has also released a warning, saying,
“They don't do street collections, they don't do house to house [collections] and they never ask for bank details. We would be advising people to be aware of this type of activity especially in the lead up to Christmas and to report it to us.”
Jack and Jill Children's Foundation has previously encountered several problems with door-to-door scammers when in April 2016, a statement was issued after a woman had falsely
collected a series of donations for a Jack and Jill 5K run in Blanchardstown, Co. Dublin and Clara, Co. Offaly.
Then in October 2016, another group claiming to act on behalf of the charity was reported to have visited a large number of households in East Galway.
Anybody who may have encountered similar suspicious activity is requested to contact Longford Garda Station at (043) 33 50570.
